Ephemeral Swells

fall 2012 | degree project

site | St. Louis, MO

A mass of people flood an area for an acute period of time. Once the population [swell] leaves, the area is vacant. A fluctuation [pattern] is created between moments of intense density [a swell] and emptiness [a hollow]. Downtown St. Louis falls victim to this pattern through moments of polarized occupation patterns-socially and architecturally.

The project aims to activate an under utilized parking lot [a hollow] through the addition of a park, a makret, and a restaurant--program types that will address the needs of the distinctly different adjacent communities. The site is in a state of constant fluidity--the occupants, the events, and the structure are all elastic. Tactile shifts in landscape reflect the structure, which responds to the surrounding neighborhood conditions.